A man was shot dead in broad daylight on Bright Street in Kolkata’s Karaya area at around 8.45 am on Tuesday. The victim, identified as Atikur Rehman, 40, was killed near his house. The accused Sheikh Idrish alias Bhola remains at large. Rehman took a bullet to the stomach and died at SSKM Hospital, the police said.

“Both are promoters; they were fighting over an under construction building in the area”, a local police officer said. According to police sources, the accused and the victim were business partners whose relationship turned sour over a land dispute.

The Karaya police has registered a case and arrests are likely in the next few hours, a source said. The detective department’s ARS and the homicide squad are investigating the case along with the local police.

The victim, identified as Atikur Rehman, 40, was killed near his house.

An eyewitness to the incident said, “Today, they were fighting in front of the victim’s house; Bhola had a gun in his hand. Locals tried to intervene, but he suddenly fired a bullet from point-blank range.”

Meanwhile, angered by the murder, neighbours ransacked the house of the accused and set several documents inside on fire.

An eyewitness to the incident said, “Bhola had a gun in his hand and suddenly fired a bullet from point-blank range.”

Locals alleged that in past few months, a vast stretch of southeast Kolkata, including Tiljala, Topsia and parts of Beniapukur and Karaya, has witnessed an increase in notorious activities, especially due to illegal construction and a boom in real estate.